Royal Dutch Shell’s hopes of resuming drilling for oil off Alaska this summer
have suffered a further setback after it revealed both its Arctic drilling
rigs would now need to be taken to Asia for repairs.

Kulluk, the oil drilling rig owned by Royal Dutch Shell ran aground in Alaska after drifting in stormy weather.Photo: AFP

However its exploration plans for 2013, set out a fortnight ago, showed it still was still intending to resume the work. It has so far spent nearly $5bn on its Arctic campaign without being allowed to drill into potentially oil-bearing rocks.

The Kulluk was being towed from Alaska to its winter harbour of Seattle where it was due to undergo maintenance when it ran aground and was damaged.

Shell said yesterday that “ongoing evaluations of the condition of the Kulluk” had led it to determine the rig would now need to be “dry towed to a shipyard in Asia with a suitable dry dock”.

The US Coast Guard highlighted a series of problems with safety management and pollution control systems and the Noble Discoverer rig, which is owned by Noble Corp and leased by Shell, when it returned from the Arctic this summer.

Greenpeace, which is fiercely opposed to Shell drilling in the Arctic, seized on the setback, claiming “the towing of both of Shell’s rusting drill rigs to Asia for repairs shows they're simply not up to the task of operating in the extreme, hostile waters of the Arctic”.

Campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: “The costs for Shell’s Arctic oil programme continue to spiral and it remains to be seen just how long investors will idly sit by and allow the company to keep pouring money down an Arctic black hole. Shell owes it to its investors to stop delaying the inevitable and pull the plug on this Arctic drilling fiasco now.”